1 December 2017

STICKS, SEEDS, PODS and LEAVES
Kate Hemphill is a trained chef. She contributed the recipes to Ian Hemphill’s best-selling Spice and Herb Bible. You will find more of her recipes on the Herbies spices website. Or you can follow her on Instagram (@herbieskitchen). Kate uses Herbies spices and blends, but you can substitute with what you have in your pantry.

CASHEW GUACAMOLE WITH PASILLA PEPITAS
With the addition of cashew nuts and pepitas, this creamy avocado dip can be a meal in itself with vegetables such as carrots and capsicum for scooping. Makes: approx 2 cups guacamole. • Prep time: 10 mins • Cook time: 5 mins • Total time: 15 mins

Drain cashew nuts and place in a food processor with avocados, onion, lime and cumin. Blitz until smooth and adjust seasoning to taste. • Toss pepitas in a hot pan with pasilla chilli, cumin and a drop of olive oil for a few minutes until crisp. • Serve guacamole with spiced pepitas and coriander and the dipping vegetables of your choice.

ANNEKA MANNING’S BAKE CLUB
Through cooking school and her new book, BakeClass (Murdoch Books), Anneka teaches home cooks to bake in practical and approachable yet inspiring ways that assure success in the kitchen. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook or check out her website.

GLUTEN-FREE MANDARIN ROASTED ALMOND CAKES.
These cakes are a play on the original (and wonderful) classic Middle Eastern orange cake from the one-and-only Claudia Roden. The ground roasted almonds give a lovely ‘toasted’ flavour but you can substitute pre-ground almond meal. To roast and grind the almonds, spread on an oven tray and place in an oven preheated to 180°C/350°F for 8-10 minutes or until aromatic. Cool on the tray before processing in a food processor until finely ground. Makes: 12 • Prep: 20 minutes (+ 30 minutes simmering and 15 minutes cooling time) • Bake: 15–18 minutes

Put the mandarins (skin and all) in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until very soft when tested with a skewer. You may need to place a small saucer over the mandarins to keep them submerged. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly. • Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush a 12-hole 80ml (1/3 cup) muffin tin with the melted butter to grease. • Combine the polenta, roasted almond meal, and baking powder in a medium bowl and mix well to combine evenly. • Quarter the mandarins and remove and discard any centre core or seeds. Puree in a food processor or blender until smooth. • Put the eggs, sugar and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl and use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment to whisk until very thick and pale and a ribbon trail forms when the whisk is lifted. Add the mandarin puree and use a spatula or large metal spoon to fold in until just combined. Add the polenta mixture and fold together until evenly combined. • Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin holes (pouring the mixture from a jug or using a ladle works well). • Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until the cakes are firm to the touch on the top and cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Use a palette knife to ease the cakes out of the tin and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature dusted with a little icing sugar if you wish.

BANANA AND PEANUT ICE CREAM
Blitzed frozen bananas make this one of the easiest and amazing ice-cream recipes ever. Kate says a powerful blender will do the job better than a food processor. They go from crumbly and gooey to looking a bit like oatmeal and finally achieve the consistency of a soft serve ice-cream. If you like, replace the chopped roasted peanuts with ½ cup blueberries. Preparation time: 15 minutes + freezing • Serves: 6

Put the frozen banana into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. (Because the bananas are frozen solid this is a noisy process.) When the mixture is smooth add the peanut butter, honey, yoghurt and peanuts then pulse-blend. Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container with a lid and freeze.

PLUMPED WALNUT PRUNES WITH ORANGE IN SPICED PORT
Prunes are a basic ingredient on an international roster of classic dishes. Here they are steeped in port until they become plump and luscious. Although a lot of the alcohol from the port will evaporate when it is simmered, use all orange juice if you prefer. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 3 minutes Serves: 6

Push a walnut half into each prune through the opening created by the stone being removed. Place filled prunes in a heat-proof basin. • Put the orange juice (freshly squeezed is best), port, orange zest strips, cinnamon stick and star anise in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer 3 minutes with the lid on and then pour over the prunes. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave at room temperature to cool. If not using immediately refrigerate. • Serve with a spoonful of yoghurt decorated with pomegranate seeds.